Method and article for filling apertures in a high performance electronic substrate

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method of filling an at least one aperture in a semiconductor substrate by placing a sacrificial carrier structure on a surface of the substrate, wherein the structure comprises, a first layer, a fill material over the first layer, and a mask over the fill material having at least one opening therein, such that the opening at least partially aligns with the aperture in the substrate. Thereafter, the fill material is forced into the aperture by the application of heat and pressure, and the sacrificial carrier structure is removed.

This application is a divisional of Ser. No. 09/764,047 filed on Jan.17, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,527.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor processing, andmore particularly, to a method and structure used to fill apertures inhigh performance electronic substrates.

2. Related Art

In circuit board construction, solder ball connection of a module, suchas a ceramic module, provides significant electrical performanceadvantage over conventional pin-in-hole technology. Pin-in-holetechnology involves the attachment of modules to circuit boards usingprojections or pins which insert into corresponding holes in the board.

Pin-in-hole connections, due to mechanical considerations, occupyconsiderable surface area of the circuit board thwarting furtherminiaturization. In contrast, solder ball technology attaches modules tothe board using balls of solder on the module which are joined tocorresponding contact points on the surface of the board.

Specifically, a high melting point solder ball is placed on the backsideof a module and attached to the module with a low melting point solderpaste reflow process. The module is then attached to the surface of thecircuit board with a screened, low melting point solder paste. Sinceattachment of the module to the board is made only on the surface of theboard, the attachment land drill diameter, and clearance land sizes maybe reduced in size, thus allowing greater wiring area. Solder ballconnection provides the advantage of enhanced system speed because thesignal net length is reduced and also provides the advantage of enhancedwiring capability due to reduced via and land diameters.

However, a problem with solder ball connect technology occurs where thesolder ball connection is being made to a conventional through hole orvia. When such a connection has been attempted, the screened eutecticpaste used to connect the solder ball to the board flows through thehole away from the intended inter-connection site during the reflowingprocess. This results in poor and unreliable solder joints. One attemptto attach a module directly to a via in pad type of land was to pre-fillthe through holes with solder to create a solid land prior to attachmentof the solder ball. However, the solder is pulled down through the hole,away from the interconnection during the assembly of the circuit board.This pulling down or “wicking” of the solder results in a void below theball which leads to cracking and thus produces poor, unreliable solderjoints.

Another solution to the problem of connecting solder balls to throughholes has been to utilize a “dog-bone” type termination where a solidcopper land is displaced from the plated through hole or via. The solderjoint is made to the solid copper land which is then connected by acircuit line to the via or through hole. While the dog bone terminationprovides excellent solder joints, it decreases the advantages otherwiseobtained with the via in pad solder ball connection technology becausethe wireability is reduced and the signal line length is increased.Concomitantly, the circuit line occupies space or “real estate” on thesurface of the circuit board.

Attempts have also been made to fill vias and through holes with certainpolymer materials, but such polymer materials incompletely fill the viasthereby creating significant voids. Such polymer materials also requirelengthy processing time due to drying of the solvent. These polymermaterials also tend to shrink as the solvent is released, thus causingnon-planar surfaces and additional voids.

It would be desirable to have solder ball connections directly atthrough holes thereby consuming less real estate, decreasing signal linelength and increasing wireability and yet exhibiting satisfactory solderjoints.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first general aspect of the present invention provides a method offilling at least one aperture in a substrate comprising: providing asubstrate having a top surface and a bottom surface; providing at leastone aperture in the substrate, the aperture extending from the topsurface to the bottom surface; providing a filling structure having afirst layer, a fill material over the first layer, and a mask over thefill material with at least one opening therethrough; placing thefilling structure on the top surface of the substrate; and forcing thefill material through the at least one opening in the mask of thefilling structure into the at least one aperture of the substrate.

A second general aspect of the present invention provides a method offorming a structure used to fill an at least one aperture in asubstrate, comprising: providing a first layer; depositing a fillmaterial over the first layer; and forming a mask over the fillmaterial.

A third general aspect of the present invention provides a structureused to fill an at least one aperture within a semiconductor substrate,comprising: a first layer; a layer of fill material over the firstlayer; and a mask over the layer of fill material.

The foregoing and other features of the invention will be apparent fromthe following more particular description of the embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, withreference to the following figures, wherein like designations denotelike elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a carrier structure in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 depicts the carrier structure of FIG. 1 having a foil layerthereon in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts the carrier structure of FIG. 2 after a mask is formedwithin the foil layer in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts the carrier structure of FIG. 3 mated with a substrate inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 depicts the carrier structure and the substrate of FIG. 4following filling of apertures in the substrate in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 depicts the substrate of FIG. 5 following removal of the carriersubstrate in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 depicts the substrate of FIG. 6 following planarization inaccordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 8 depicts the substrate of FIG. 7 having a wiring layer and aninsulative layer thereon in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Although certain embodiments of the present invention will be shown anddescribed in detail, it should be understood that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of theappended claims. The scope of the present invention will in no way belimited to the number of constituting components, the materials thereof,the shapes thereof, the relative arrangement thereof, etc. Although thedrawings are intended to illustrate the present invention, the drawingsare not necessarily drawn to scale.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 show the formation of a carrierstructure 10 used to fill apertures or vias within a substrate, such asa chip carrier, circuit board, etc. In particular, FIG. 1 shows asacrificial first layer 12 having a layer of fill material 14 thereon.The sacrificial first layer 12 comprises copper foil, aluminum, othersimilarly used metals, or alternatively a non-metal, such as polyimide,polymer film, etc. The sacrificial first layer 12 has a thickness in therange of approximately 0.5-5.0 mil.

The layer of fill material 14 comprises an organic material, such as anepoxy, cyanate ester, bismaleimide, cyanate esterepoxy, polyimide,benzocyclobutenes, polysulfones, polyetherketones, and combinationsthereof. The fill material 14 may also include thermally or electricallyconductive particles, such as silica, alumina, aluminum nitride, siliconnitride, silicon carbide, boron nitride, diamond powder, glass, silver,gold, paladium, tin, bismuth, lead, transient liquid phase particles,silver coated copper, silver coated solid glass spheres, silver coatedhollow glass spheres, carbon, nickel, molybdenum and platinum, etc.,distributed therein. The fill material 14 may also consist of materialscited in U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,891 to Kulesza et al., assigned to IBM(International Business Machines Corporation), which is incorporatedherein by reference. The layer of fill material 14, having a thicknessin the range of approximately 0.5-5.0 mil., is deposited over thesacrificial first layer 12 using a roller coating technique, a printscreening technique, or other conventional process. In particular, thefill material 14 is heated to a temperature in the range ofapproximately 120-140° C. to remove any solvent used in the fillmaterial 14, (which aids in the coating process), and to partiallyadvance the fill material 14, thereby liquefying the fill material 14 sothat it will adhere to the sacrificial first layer 12.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a layer of foil 16 is deposited over the layerof fill material 14 using a transfer type technique, such as rolllamination, vacuum lamination, hot roll lamination (HRL), etc. Thedeposition process is performed at a low temperature and pressure inorder to prevent the layer of fill material 14 from being deformed ordisplaced. The layer of foil 16 is deposited having a thickness in therange of approximately 0.25-2.0 mil. The layer of foil 16 comprisescopper or other similarly used materials.

As shown in FIG. 3, holes or openings 18 are formed within the layer offoil 16 thereby forming a mask 19. The openings 18 within the layer offoil 16 may be formed using conventional photolithographic subtractiveetching methods, or other similar processes. The openings 18, whichexpose portions of the fill material 14, correspond to the approximatesize and location of apertures or vias 20, such as plated through holes,formed within a substrate 22, such as a chip carrier, circuit board,etc., (shown in FIG. 4). The substrate 22 may comprise FR-4 epoxy andlaminates based on high temperature resins such as high temperatureepoxies, polyimides, cyanates (triazines), fluoropolymers, ceramicfilled fluoropolymers, benzocyclobutenes, perfluorobutanes,polyphenylenesulfide, polysulfones, polyetherimides, polyetherketones,polyphenylquinoxalines, polybenzoxazoles, and polyphenylbenzobisthiazoles, combinations thereof and the like. The openings 18 inthe layer of foil 16 are formed using conventional circuitizationtechniques, such as photolithographic, or other methods. For instance,the apertures 20 may be formed by drilling, punching or laser techniquesconventionally used for providing a printed circuit board or a chipcarrier.

As shown in FIG. 4, the carrier structure 10 is inverted and placed onthe surface of the substrate 22 such that the mask 19 is in contact withthe substrate 22. As illustrated, the openings 18 in the mask 19 do notneed to be perfectly aligned with, or have the exact same dimensions as,the apertures 20 in the substrate 22. As long as the openings 18 in themask 19 provide approximately 20-80% access between the fill material 14and the apertures 20 within the substrate 22, the apertures 20 will beproperly filled (as will be discussed herein).

Pressure in the range of approximately 150-700 psi, and a temperature inthe range of approximately 80-200° C., e.g., 120-130° C., are appliedfor about 20-90 minutes to force the fill material 14 through theopenings 18 in the mask 19 and into the apertures 20 of the substrate 22and cure the fill material 14 displaced into the apertures 20 (FIG. 5).The sacrificial first layer 12, the mask 19, and any remaining fillmaterial 14 therebetween, are then removed from the surface of thesubstrate 22 using a peeling technique, which induces a shearing forceon the fill material 14 within the apertures 20. During peeling the fillmaterial 14 that is within the openings 18 of the mask 19 and is adheredto the sacrificial first layer 12 is broken leaving nubs 24 on thesurface of the substrate 22 (FIG. 6). The surface of the substrate 22 isthen planarized using abration, mechanical scrubbing, CMP (chemicalmechanical polishing), etc., to remove the nubs 24, as shown in FIG. 7.

Thereafter, a layer of conductive material, such as copper, is platedonto the surface of the substrate 22, using conventional platingtechniques (FIG. 8). This forms a capping layer over the filledapertures 20. The conductive layer 26 is then patterned to form a wiringlayer 26 for electrical connections. Thereafter, an insulationdielectric layer or a dielectric build-up layer 28, is laminated to thewiring layer 26. The dielectric build-up layer 28 provides for thestacking of additional circuit layers.

While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specificembodiments outlined above, it is evident that many alternatives,modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in theart. Accordingly, the embodiments of the invention as set forth aboveare intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method of filling at least one aperture in a substratecomprising: providing the substrate having a top surface and a bottomsurface; providing at least one aperture in the substrate, the at leastone aperture extending from the top surface to the bottom surface;providing a filling structure having a first layer, a fill material onthe first layer, and a mask on the fill material with at least oneopening therethrough; placing the filling structure on the top surfaceof the substrate; and forcing a portion of the fill material through theat least one opening in the mask of the filling structure into the atleast one aperture of the substrate.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe at least one aperture is a plated through hole.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the filling structure is a sacrificial carrierstructure.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising aligning thefilling structure so that the at least one opening in the maskapproximately aligns with the at least one aperture in the substrate. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising removing the filling structurefrom the top surface of the substrate, following forcing the fillmaterial through the opening in the mask of the filling structure intothe at least one aperture of the substrate.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein after said forcing a remaining fill material remains between thefirst layer and the mask, and wherein removing the filling structurefrom the substrate further comprises peeling the first layer, theremaining fill material, and the mask from the top surface of thesubstrate.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein removing the fillingstructure from the top surface of the substrate is followed byplanarizing the top surface of the substrate.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the first layer comprises a material selected from the groupconsisting of: copper foil, aluminum, polyimide and polymer film.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the fill material comprises a materialselected from the group consisting of: an epoxy, cyanate ester,bismaleimide, cyanate ester-epoxy, polyimide, benzocyclobutenes,polysulfones, polyetherketones, and combinations thereof.
 10. The methodof claim 9, wherein the fill material further comprises particlescomprising a material selected from the group consisting of: silica,alumina, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, boronnitride, diamond powder, glass, copper, silver, gold, paladium, tin,bismuth, lead, transient liquid phase particles, silver coated copper,silver coated solid glass spheres, silver coated hollow glass spheres,carbon, nickel, molybdenum and platinum.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein the mask comprises a layer of foil.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the layer of foil comprises copper.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein the opening within the mask is formed using a photolithographicprocess.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the opening in the maskforms an access to the fill material.
 15. The method of claim 1, whereinthe opening in the mask aligns with the aperture in the substrate toprovide at least 20-80% access between the fill material and theaperture.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the mask has a thickness inthe range of approximately 0.25-2 mil.
 17. The method of claim 1,wherein forcing the fill material into the aperture further comprisesapplying pressure in the range of approximately 150-700 psi, and atemperature in the range of approximately 80-200° C. to the structureand the substrate.
 18. A method of forming a structure used to fill anat least one aperture in a substrate, comprising: providing a firstlayer; depositing a fill material over the first layer; and forming amask over the fill material.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein thefirst layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of:copper foil, aluminum, polyimide and polymer film.
 20. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the fill material comprises a material selected fromthe group consisting of: an epoxy, cyanate ester, bismaleimide, cyanateester-epoxy, polyimide, benzocyclobutenes, polysulfones,polyetherketones, and combinations thereof.
 21. The method of claim 20,wherein the fill material further comprises particles selected from thegroup consisting of: silica, alumina, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride,silicon carbide, boron nitride, diamond powder, glass, copper, silver,gold, paladium, tin, bismuth, lead, transient liquid phase particles,silver coated copper, silver coated solid glass spheres, silver coatedhollow glass spheres, carbon, nickel, molybdenum and platinum.
 22. Themethod of claim 18, wherein forming a mask over the fill materialfurther comprises: depositing a foil layer over the fill material; andforming an at least one opening within the foil layer.
 23. The method ofclaim 22, further comprising aligning the opening at least partiallywith the aperture in the substrate.
 24. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising aligning the opening with the aperture in the substrate toprovide at least 20-80% access between the fill material and theaperture.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the aperture comprises aplated through hole.
 26. The method of claim 22, wherein the mask has athickness in the range of approximately 0.25-2 mil.